Increasing Plant Safety with FRP Flooring and Railing

Industrial safety management sets stringent requirements for refineries, power plants, and industrial sectors to ensure the health and wellbeing of employees, on-site individuals, and to avoid environmental damage which can have enormous ramifications on wider populations. Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) products are broadly-applied to various industries, with the simultaneous benefits of improved cost-efficiency – when installation and maintenance have been considered – over conventional materials, and increased safety standards due to the unique mechanical properties of fiber reinforced materials.

FRP is enormously versatile. It can be formed into specific structural shapes and plates with great tensile strength, core building panels with high electromagnetism transparency, and exceptionally safe flooring and railing for plant or refinery environments. Strongwell has developed and manufactured the broadest range of industrial-grade FRP products available from a single source, with a choice of fiberglass grating and railing systems available to given industry requirements.

This article will explore the safety benefits of select Strongwell FRP products in some more detail:

FRP Flooring for Industrial Sectors

Metal flooring components for platforms and walkovers are prevalent in industrial plants, refineries, and factories, but FRP grating offers distinct health and safety benefits for such industries. Fiberglass composites are extremely corrosion resistant, retaining both their structural and superficial integrity even after long periods of exposure to corrosive elements, including steam, salt water, and various chemicals. This aspect of FRP allows for the formation of products that are extremely low-maintenance, which in-turn reduces the likelihood of accidents due to gradual component weathering.

Alongside these excellent improvements to long-term plant stability and safety, FRP flooring is inherently slip-resistant. This feature vastly improves day-to-day health and safety in environments where standing water from regular cleaning, or condensation as a byproduct of various chemical reactions, could result in serious injury to personnel.

Strongwell have developed and manufactured three primary product lines of molded and pultruded grating to produce plant flooring and access platforms: DURAGRATE®; DURADEK®; and DURAGRID®. DURAGRID® is a custom, high-strength variant of our product line designed in three distinct categories to improve different aspects of plant safety:

  • DURAGRID®: Custom pultruded bar grating with variable bar spacings, shapes, cross-sections, and colors, for ultimate design flexibility;
  • DURAGRID® HD: Heavy duty grating designed to bear increased traffic weights, with individual bearing bars capable of withstanding the weights of forklifts, tow motors, and trucks;
  • DURAGRID® Phenolic Grating: Designed for the oil and gas industry with improved fire and smoke performance, to improve evacuation routes and fire isolation in the event of an emergency.

 

FRP Railing for Industrial Sectors

FRP hand rails offer similar safety improvements over traditional plant materials, namely improving corrosion resistance, which can result in potentially dangerous structural damage – particularly to seams or joints in railing systems. They are also incredibly stable, with exceptional tensile strength and low thermal conductivity to ensure the product’s longevity.

Strongwell have designed several lines of industrial FRP railing systems with varying specifications for different industrial environments. Our SAFRAILTM system is available in a range of vibrant safety colors to ensure high visibility, with options of rounded handrails to reduce accumulation of grime or debris, or square handrails. Both meet OSHA strength requirements with 2:1 factors of safety.

Industrial FRP Products from Strongwell

Strongwell is an institution in fiberglass development and production, having received numerous awards and accreditations for our established range of FRP products and our commitment to fiberglass innovation.

If you would like any more information about our FRP products for application in the industrial sector, or the oil and gas industry, please contact us.